Art talks from Psychonauts, SimCity co-creators revealed for GDC 2013

GDC 2013 organizers have revealed three new Visual Arts talks for its March conference, including performance capture insights from veteran director Remington Scott, a live character creation demo by Scott Campbell, and Ocean Quigley's overview of the dynamically constructed visuals of the new SimCity.

The Visual Arts Track is just one of seven tracks to be held Wednesday-Friday, March 27-29 during the Game Developers Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA.

This particular track "strives to educate artists and technical artists about methods for producing game art and animations," focusing this year on producing "exceptional art while reducing costs."

In 'Performance Capture: Insights from the Edge,' industry pioneer Remington Scott will explain how to bring realistic, digital humans to life, as he does currently as freelance director for Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Activision, THQ and Electronic Arts. Scott's talk will combine his experience of over 25 years, during which he worked on Academy Award for Achievement in Visual Effects winners The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Spiderman 2.

Independent artist Scott Campbell, who served as Psychonauts and Brutal Legend's art director while working with Double Fine, will design a new character in front of his audience in 'Creating Amazing Characters.' Along with the live demo, he will show past works and techniques for creating memorable and distinctive characters.

Finally, Maxis' Ocean Quigley will give an overview of how SimCity's art works within aesthetic, technical, and UI constraints in 'Building SimCity: Art in the Service of Simulation.' Insights will include the motivations behind the game's aesthetics and the methods that Maxis developed to achieve them.

GDC still offers over $100 discounts to select pass purchases made by March 20th, at 11:59pm EST, with prices increasing for onsite registration. GDC 2013 itself will take place March 25-29 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.